Can't rain all the time.

Good afternoon, fellas!

It's been a while, almost 2 months since my last post. A lot has happened since and as such I was unable to contribute much time to you, my readers and to this blog. It is ironic that the last entry was inspired by the same person who inadvertently inspired this one...

I've spent about all of July studying self improvement and a lot of spiritual stuff. I made a decision to leave my life in NYC behind and sort of vagabond around until I see another sign as to where I should stop and what I should do. My trip began with a phrase I heard from a very special mentor of sorts. He said "any time something gets you down...LOOK UP" simple yet very powerful statement. And, so I went upstate New York, deep into the Catskills mountain range to meditate, look inwards and also be surrounded by nature and the stars which I love so so much (wanted to be an astronaut or an astronomer when I was a kid and spent weeks breaking night and studying the stars out in Pennsylvania).

to me, seeing the infinite is beyond words, or at least my ability to use words to the describe the feeling I get...

One night, it was pouring rain, it came on almost out of nowhere and rained very hard. As I was stuck in my tent reminiscing on good times and positivity, one specific day stuck out in my mind...I felt extremely inspired to pick up a pencil and paper and draw! For those of you who don't know, I went to an art school from 6-14 before I unfortunately had to give it up due to pressure from my father to get "serious", something that has subconsciously and at times consciously soured our relationship, to the point of tears even...

I felt a rush of inspiration (again, stemming from the person that inspired my last entry) and began to sketch and draw a specific scene that once made me warm and fuzzy inside...this beautiful person (in any aspect that the adjective "beautiful" can be used) is no longer in my life, and though I am very saddened, I have the utmost faith in her ability to continue to bring light into this darkness of a world. Another friend of mine asked me once "How do you care and love people so much when the world is so dark and twisted?" My answer was a sly smile and words of another wise woman "Oftentimes, the ones who are so hard to love, need it the most" . Furthermore, G-d or whatever force it is you believe in, throws many hardships towards your way, for some more than others but it is a BLESSING, because the harder your turbulent times and the more you are tested means you are EQUIPPED TO HANDLE AND WORTHY OF THE CHALLENGE! I will be posting more on this "self improvement" aspect but for now...my art work and a song I had playing on my 2nd gen Zune mp3 player as I was sketching this (this song is also ironic as it's on the subject, and further demonstrates eternal, external, omnipotent powers that be :) the next morning when I traveled into the nearest town to get some supplies I checked my VM and a mentor of sorts and a good friend, had gotten into a car accident. If that wasn't bad enough, another dear friend of mine committed suicide and I had to return. (my original premonition of belonging somewhere else must have been untimely). But remember, guys, keep your tips up because:

CAN'T RAIN ALL THE TIME...

I apologize for the distorted image but the upload settings are a tad screwed up at the moment but you get the gist :)



Peace and Love

Best and Better my brothers and sisters :)

AN UPDATE AND A LATENIGHT SNACK (that's the hook btw)

now that I got your attention since you're curious about what sorta "stupid shit" I eat, here it is...BUT FIRST 


I know it's been a minute and all but the deal is finals finals and more finals! Had to immerse myself in my studies and also my upcoming Strength and Conditioning licensing exam in July! Big things! Like Weezy said once "I'm so official all i need is a whistle" .... that doesn't even rhyme without autotune, BRO!!!

MY NEXT POST will be about the top 5 bodyweight exercises as asked by one the of readers...it will be along with some more videos of my amazing faux-hawk...rocking it until I'm the last one around THEN back to growing out my long hair btw :D

as I am writing this I realize I am not too sure who asked me for that body weight work out idea (if you are that person, please let me know so I can give you credit for the idea)...BUT I do remember them asking me for top THREE..anywho, I am enjoy a very "healthy" snack (read: munchies) and I am going to share it :)

this is somewhat a lot of "sugar" and/or "carbs" but also "healthy fat"


CONSISTS OF:


1. this is about 5 hazelnuts, pecans and about 12 almonds in some Bob's Red Mill gluten free honey almond granola and about a 1/3 cup of home made almond milk 
thanks to Mikey at  Cook Eat Repeat Now   ....psst (you can use whatever sort of milk you like though btw, go crazy :D)

2. ONE small Granny Smith Apple (3-4 inches in diameter to be precise with the term "small" not that it matters, fruit "sugar" at night isn't the best...but it's helping me write this up!)

3. And my 2nd favorite type of pear (first being "New Zealand pears") an Anjou pear (by the time I finished writing I all ready ate most of the sides...I cut it in different shapes as i peel it with the knife...I'm sort of weird, supposedly.

yumm

total is about (I eat by listening to my body not the nutrition facts so it's approximate SORRY)

20 grams of fat which about 6 is saturated.
6-8 grams of protein
and about 50 grams of carbs (mostly from the fruit) along with about 30 grams of dietary fiber
for a total of 350-400 calories or about 1600 kilojoules 

You saw the morning, time for night time stuff!

As the title would hint at, this is my routine for the evening time!

First tip that I personally follow is: no carbs 3-4 hours before bedtime. Now this GREATLY depends on whether or not, and what time I will be working out at. As I am a big fan of pre and post workout fruit, I may be consuming a few within this time if I am doing some light evening training, 30-45 minutes of gymanstics/bodyweight stuff...

Otherwise, protein or healthy fat is all I would consume for snacks during this time period...You can actually check out my BJJ trainer's recipe for a good protein meal for the evening time right here -->> Protein Delight for fighters or Athletes cutting weight

Now, because I often work out in the evening (as well as the morning) I am forced to eat some carbs for fuel, especially natural sugars from fruit (fructose, glucose - the energy particle of life)

So, in retrospect, I don't normally follow this rule unless I've gained some weight and training to get back down a few pounds! :P If you're out of shape, or trying to get down in weight, I'd say WORK OUT DURING THE DAY OR THE MORNING AND AVOID CARBS BEFORE SLEEP (as we established 3-4 hours before bedtime) AS WELL WORKING OUT CLOSER TO BED TIME

TEA: If you know me, you know I OVERstock my kitchen cabinets with tea

Exhibit A:

I really enjoy some "night time" teas, usually herbal caffeine free teas and usually also include chamomile and hibiscus...very relaxing and helps your heart rest before and during your sleep! My only problem with this is, since I consume so much fluids (about 100 oz a day) along with several cups of tea and mate, I tend to pee way too much...sometimes I forget and drink a lot of liquids before bedtime and...lets just say I'm not getting the best sleep of my life....

Three: If there's MORNING yoga...then there's DEFINITELY EVENING YOGA!!! This depends on my day, amount of physical activity and stress haha. One day a week I try to do about 90 minutes worth of intense yoga, usually on Sundays which is my "recovery" and flexibility day. Any other day of the week I tend to do about 15 minutes worth (just like the morning) to take some stress away...

there are many movements and stretches you can incorporate into your routine so find whatever works. (I won't even begin to list all the different yoga positions and movements because there is SOOO MANY of them but if you google something and ATTEMPT IT, you'll get a good idea of what works for YOU )

Anything that you will do in the evening should work to relax you and calm your mind and body. Child's pose, Embryo pose, Deep forward fold, corpse pose all are very excellent along with cat/cow stretch for the curvature of your back :)

extended child pose

 deep forward fold

cat cow

so your body has (hopefully) it's nutrients, minerals, protein, fats, carbs for the day. you're calm and relaxed and you're ready for slumber...SLEEP TIME IS THE MOST, again that is , THE MOST important thing in your life. It helps with weight loss, maintainance, stress reduction, physical recovery, recovery from the cold/flu, and sooo much more. try to get 6-8 hours based on how tired you are...if you gotta be up at 5 am and your fave show is at 11 PM...WATCH IT THE NEXT DAY!!! Your health and being-awesome-ness is way more precious and important :)

I like to go to sleep without the TV on (as it actually prolongs your falling asleep process along with the quality of your sleep) and with both my cell phones (yes I have two, ONE IS FREE don't judge me) on silent and placed far away from my bed to reduce "electromagnetic interference" EMI, on your body...wonderful research paper on the subject I recently read can be found: Right Here!!!

that wraps up my evening time haha. If you read, study, etc it's actually a good time to do so in the evening as the way absorbtion memory works is "retained" during the, you guessed it, retention state the BEST during sleep. source: Proof!!! haha BUT DO NOT THINK THIS IS OKAY TO CRAM FOR FINALS THE NIGHT BEFORE...even on Adderall.

got any questions, two cents, comments, criticism (like I give I like :), or anything intriguing to add hit me up on facebook : Arthur KnoqOut :)

or email me Arthur@KnoqOutMMA.com

OR post a comment :) p.s. topics are welcome

Peace and Love

What do Vegetarians eat?!

I often get asked this question along with "don't you feel hungry?" "don't you lack protein?" "don't you 'miss' meat?"

and the answer to ALL of those is, absolutely not! When you eat every 2-3 hours (3hours mark i get very grumpy) you get to enjoy a larger variety of food and constantly eating them, because 2 hours isn't that long at all. Protein, beans, tofu, soy, isolated pea protein powders (usually taken for my recovery after work outs) all provided sufficient protein and I feel physically recovered 100%. And the final question, "don't you miss meat?" well, thank goodness for veggie burgers, tofu and

a few months ago i shot a video of a day in my nutritional life. I will be shooting a more comprehensive one but for NOW...here is a look into a variety of things i eat, which cover all the nutritional bases from vitamins to minerals to protein and healthy fats :)

Daily Nutrition V-log pre-cut v 1.0 from KnoqOut on Vimeo.

My very first post...welcome :)

Hi, guys! Today is a start of a new chapter in my life. The birth of my blog..MAZEL TOV!

I am very much trying to figure out life...after years of this I've realized that to understand the whole, we need to learn and study about each aspects of it. Arts, science, literature, nutrition, fitness, yada yada blah blah...I also began to realize that as you grow up  you are able to control more aspects of your surrounding and thus, grow and better yourself as a person...so this is my attempt to share, but infinitely more important sharing it with you guys, is ME ARCHIVING EVERYTHING I FIND FOREVER ON THE INTERWEBZ!!!



So, as a start let's begin at the beginning, your morning, or rather MY MORNING's do's and don'ts and why's and hows.

Wake up, yawn, and stretch out and get mentally ready for the day ahead, is my routine. I try to not concern myself with anything like worries or errands or whatever else will ruin my morning thus far. A couple of things I wanna go over...

First: Water...at least 8 ounces of water as soon as you wake up, remember, while you sleep your body is fasting which means no water, no nutrients, etc. I usually drink two glasses of water first thing after waking up.

Second: Breakfast, your body is yearning to replenish its' lost glycogen and you should oblige it by providing some :) Now, it's beyond me why people skip breakfast other than "I don't feel hungry"...you're probably lying to yourself OR you're stuffing your face waaay too close to bedtime. Even if you're "not hungry" EAT!

Best thing in the morning is carbs, THE PROPER WAY! Fruit is by FAR the best thing you can have along with some oatmeal or quinoa (the essential grain :)

example 1: organic (we'll discuss organic vs "conventional" products later :) kiwi, blueberries and half a medium granny smith apple (not the best morning fruit yet very good for feeling awake) along with half a cup of steel cut oats boiled in water and a bit of almond milk (half a cup before boiling it)

example 2:  Clementine, granny smith apple (again) a dahs of almonds and some goji berry, hazelnut and whole oats granola (dry) add a dash of almond milk or soy milk and you're ready to take on the world!

you want to eat fruit because it will restock your glycogen deposits (the ones you lost whilst reposing...you know..MAKING THE ZZZZzzZzzzzs...if you get the refrence major props, if not...its OK i guess!

here's a list of some goodies for the morning. keep in mind, while fruits are GREAT, eating 10 servings a day will not be so great for many reasons but lets just say TOO MUCH SUGAR, to be more precise it's too much calories from simply sugar based, carbohydrates. Remember your body needs protein, healthy fat, nutritients and vitamins and minerals as well!!!

These fruits provide equal or nearly equal fructose and glucose to
restock liver and muscle glycogen to help halt muscle breakdown. Eat two
or three servings.

FRUIT TOTAL SUGARS* FRUCTOSE* GLUCOSE*

Pineapple (1 cup diced) 13 7 6
Honeydew melon (1 wedge) 13 7 6
Orange (1 medium) 12 6 6
Banana (1 medium) 18 9 9
Blueberries (1 cup) 14 7 7
Nectarine (1 medium) 10 5 5
Kiwi fruit (2 medium) 12 6 6

so  you can have an orange, a kiwi and a cup of pineapple or a banana....personally i feel like more than two pieces of fruits is enough for me but I am not a large bodybuilder, if you are then proceed to eat 10 fruits :)

MORNING DRINK OF CHOICE:

yerba mate :)

"The infusion called mate is prepared by steeping dry leaves (and twigs) of yerba mate in hot water, rather than in boiling water. Drinking mate with friends from a shared hollow gourd (also called a guampa or mate in Spanish, or cabaça or cuia in Portuguese, or zucca in Italian) with a metal straw (a bombilla in Spanish, bomba in Portuguese) is a common social practice in Argentina among people of all ages"

got this AMAZING thing from an ex of mine!

or a small cup of coffee (1/3 columbian, 1/3 turkish, 1/3 roasted almonds) with almond milk :)

keep in mind, both are high in caffeine (mate being slighly less) so don't over do it, or you will be on pins and needles all day...unless you drink 40 cups a day, in which case you'll be simply, normal :)


3. I like yoga...in fact i LOVE yoga (or any morning work you like).. a quick 15 minute routine in the morning gets my blood flowing, mind and soul centered and I am in a good mood with a smile when I do leave the house. if you don't like yoga, JUMPROPE is another great morning way of getting your blood flowing (and thus, helping you feel more awake). if no jumprope, do some dynamic stretches (moving as oppose to static stretches where you hold and stretch a bodypart/limb) and do a quick set of however many pull ups, push ups, jumping jacks and crunches for example, as you can!


great example of a good, easy and most importantly, EFFECTIVE yoga practice:



 4. take your time...too many people nowadays, wake up, rush, shove food down their throat if they eat at all, and are nervous wrecks for the rest of the day...the morning should be your time to get ready for the day not jump right into it. if you have to work really early, WAKE UP REALLY EARLY but don't comprimise your sleep...we'll talk about sleep in the upcoming weeks as well.




you should be ready to wrestle a panda bear at this point! as you get stronger and grow, we can move on to alligators and eventually the Sasquatch or your regional equivalent

all in all i wake up at least 2 hours before having to leave my house, I also love to work out in the AM (and in the PM some days as well).

thoughts, comments, critics, two cents are all welcome :)